J.P. Nadda Reviews TB, Measles-Rubella Elimination Efforts and Health Fund Utilization with State Ministers

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda, held a high-level meeting with Health Ministers of 8 States and Union Territories to review the progress made on TB and Measles-Rubella elimination and utilization of funds under PM-ABHIM (Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission) and 15th Finance Commission.

States Health Ministers who joined the meeting included Shri N. Rangasamy, Chief Minister, Puducherry; Shri Brajesh Mishra, Deputy Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh; Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil, Health Minister, Himachal Pradesh; Shri Biyuram Wahge, Health Minister, Arunachal Pradesh; Shri Vishwajit Pratapsingh Rane, Health Minister, Goa; Shri Gajendra Singh Khimsar, Health Minister, Rajasthan; Dr Balbir Singh, Health Minister, Punjab and Dr Irfan Ansari, Health Minister, Jharkhand.

The Union Minister complimented states for their enthusiastic participation during the 100-day Intensified TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan where 12.97 crore people were screened for TB, with over 7.19 lakh TB patients notified across India, including 2.85 lakh patients who were asymptomatic. 

Now this campaign has been extended to all districts across the country. He took cognisance on key metrics like presumptive TB case examination, NAAT coverage, treatment success and uptake of nutrition support schemes for TB patients, and urged state health ministers to review these key metrics on a regular basis.

Under the TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, states are playing a proactive role in screening vulnerable populations for TB, irrespective of whether they present symptoms, using portable chest x-ray machines and patients who are TB-suggestive are tested using a NAAT test (Nucleic acid amplification test).

The Union Health Minister called for greater Jan Bhagidari to bring about impactful and lasting change in the fight against TB. He urged states/UTs to integrally involve elected representatives from Panchayati Raj Institutions, Municipal Corporations etc in the TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.

Shri J.P. Nadda emphasized the urgent need to reduce both the incidence and mortality rates of TB through early and comprehensive screening. He stated that the national goal is to bring down the TB incidence rate to 47 cases per lakh population and the mortality rate to below 3 per lakh population.

To achieve these targets, the Minister called on states to re-strategize their TB campaigns, placing a sharper focus on vulnerable and high-risk communities. He also stressed the importance of expanding access to rapid diagnostic tools, particularly NAAT testing.

In addition, states were encouraged to promote greater uptake of flagship nutritional support initiatives for TB patients and their families, such as the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana and the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative. 

The Union Minister noted that the participation and benefits under these schemes remain suboptimal in several regions and must be significantly improved to ensure holistic care and support for those affected.

Shri Nadda commended states on their efforts towards completely eliminating measles-rubella. However, since some districts in many states are still yet to be free of measles-rubella, he underlined the importance of enhancing immunisation to achieve the goal of elimination of measles-rubella.

Shri Nadda highlighted that health infrastructure under PM-ABHIM and 15th Finance Commission needs to be implemented under war footing to ensure that the funds that have been commissioned are spent efficiently as only one year is left for their utilisation.

States represented their efforts and achievements in the programmes that were discussed. They also shared their best practices. Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava, Union Health Secretary and senior officials of the Union Health Ministry were present at the meeting.